Is it true that if death is delayed and the dying process is prolonged, it serves as expiation for sins? It was said that his voice was heard in the house after his death, so they asked one of the scholars, and he said it was the companion (qareen).

The questioner : ... regarding death, by Allah’s will, it is something that is expected.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.

The questioner : And regarding the ... is it true that if a person is delayed in ... meaning that his dying process is prolonged for a long period, does it serve as expiation for his sins in this worldly life? This is one aspect, and the second aspect of the same question is that it was said that after his death, his voice and moaning were heard by more than one person in the same room or the same house, and they consulted one of the scholars at that time, and he told them it was the companion (qareen).

The Shaykh : As for the answer to the first question, the truth is that the onset of death is like any other illness that befalls a person, any person; it may be any kind of affliction.
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We, the prophets, are the most severely tested ... the best of people, the more they are tested ... and the believer ... the believer is strong and firm in his religion, ... and if he is a sinner, then it is retribution in this world, as Allah the Exalted said: .

The questioner : Meaning, it could be expiation even for ...?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Expiation for his deeds, meaning.

The Shaykh : It could be like that, and it could be like that; we cannot be certain, and in reality, its knowledge is with my Lord. As for the second question, that this voice which is heard is from the companion (qareen), the truth is that this is a matter of the unseen, and one should not be certain of anything without evidence from the Book of Allah or from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because here is a discussion raised by jurists and scholars, but they did not reach a conclusion. It is known in the Sunnah that every Muslim has a companion (qareen). They asked the Messenger, "Do you have one?" He said: , became a Muslim, from its evil. The discussion that took place is delving into what should not be delved into. Do you see? If a Muslim dies, or a human dies, does his companion die with him, or does it remain alive? I swear by Allah, I say I do not know, and half of knowledge is saying "I do not know." But this person who wants to say that that voice is from his companion means that he is certain that his companion did not die, so we tell him: .

The questioner : My master, the answer was, professor ... the issue is that the deceased was not righteous, so the companion refused to leave the ...?

The Shaykh : This ... ... where are we going to get it from? Then it could be said without certainty, why not say that this voice is a devil from the devils of the jinn? Let’s not use the precise word "companion," do you see? A devil from the devils of the jinn, those whom we do not see, and it is possible that this is one of the ways the devils of the jinn mislead humans; they make them hear a voice first that resembles his voice so that they become accustomed to it, and perhaps after a few days it will suggest to them something that is contrary to the Shari'ah, like "our father, for example, or our father, our mother, or so on," so it lures them into evil in this way that it pretends to be.
And I know about Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him); this man is rare in his example among scholars because he combined qualities that are rarely found together in one scholar: from the Book and the Sunnah, courage beyond the courage of the brave, asceticism in this world and indifference to kings, strange things that we do not have. One day after Hajj, a person came to him and said, "I saw you in Hajj circumambulating with the circumambulators." He said to him, "You lied; I did not perform Hajj and I did not leave my country." He said, "I saw you as you are." He said to him, "That is a devil that took my form to mislead you in my name." Do you see how the scholar is? Ibn Taymiyyah knew his state that he had not performed Hajj, and he did not know his state as the Sufis say, meaning that he splits into two persons in one body; they have very strange ecstatic utterances. One of them mentions in a printed and published book today, with dozens of editions, that in one of the villages, the mosque preacher did not attend, so it was said to one of these dervishes, "Preach to us." He climbed the pulpit with a sword in his hand, and this is one of the innovations that exists among us in Sham ... and I have not seen it, praise be to Allah. In our Umayyad Mosque, the preacher on Friday does not come out except with a sword in his hand; this remains with us, the sword, and we do not have a sword, but wood is more useful than it. In any case, this ecstatic preacher came out on the pulpit and said in his sermon, "And I bear witness that there is no god for you but Iblis (peace be upon him)." What did the people below say? "The Shaykh is a disbeliever, the Shaykh is a disbeliever." He stood up, drew the sword, and attacked them, and the mosque was emptied, and they did not pray any prayer.
The point is, what do they say? They saw this man on that day, at the same time, in the same manner, in forty mosques. Now, bring a mind that believes in these superstitions; they are written and printed.
So Ibn Taymiyyah does not believe that he could be in Sham and also be in the House of Allah the Sacred; therefore, he immediately told him, "That which you saw is not me; it is from the devil who wanted to mislead you on the path." So it is possible that this voice is a devil from the devils. You must not forget that this deceased brother no longer has movement; he is stone, wood; he and the grave surrounding and enclosing him have no difference at all, except that he is alive in spirit.